My 4 year old baby Cheech, had PU surgery in Sept 2006 after several blockages of struvite crystals. He has been on Royal Canin Control Formula dry food since then.
Ten months later I notice blood in urine and find out he has a bladder stone. Vet informs me of possible diet control (not a high success rate) but leans towards surgery again. Cheech's fur is just now grown out again. I do not want to put him through surgery again nor do I want to go through the heart ache of having to do it. I have changed his food to can food diet as recommended by everything I have read. Just a fancy feast can food, I know not the best but he will eat it for now. I will deal with trying to switch to better brand later. Right now just want to keep him hydrated.
I have taken a holistic approach to try to see if we can dissolve the stone. I am giving him Crystal Clear which is supposed to help with break down of stone and Tinkle Tonic which is suppose to help with the pain associated with UTI's.
I am desperate to find something that might at least make his condition treatable without surgery. I know it will take time to see if my approach works and I am somewhat frightened that I may be making a mistake. I've only been doing the Crystal Clear and Tinkle tonic for a few days but the color of his urine has already changed. I know that a visual cannot really tell anything and I do plan to get PH test strips but I am just looking for anything positive at this point.
Please any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you
PU surgery Sept 2006, now bladder stone
Re: PU surgery Sept 2006, now bladder stone
Cease the "holistic" stuff, and get a second opinion immediately, be sure to inform the new vet you have given Cheech alternative products, they need to know that. Get an xray and/or ultrasound done to determine the location and size of the stone, is it crystals higher up in the urethra, or is it too large to pass on it's own, etc etc....you need additional diagnostics to determine that before you assume diet alone would dissolve it enough to pass.
Holistic, homeopathy, herbs, etc are nothing but crap, have no evidence of efficacy or safety and have not been properly tested for safety, particularly in animals. Many herbs are contraindicated and react to other medications, making this a deadly combination. Homeopathy is water or alcohol, nothing added, it is pure pseudoscience -- equally as deadly are products claimed to be holistic or homeopathic that actually might contain substances that are adulterated or dubiously labeled, leaving the consumer with absolutely no recourse because they are not regulated. Please do not put any stock into what you see and read on the internet, nor what others tell you of baseless information regarding alternatives. Any vet who "prescribes" this is abandoning proper medicine and is delaying vital treatment for your cat. Or, did you take it upon yourself to do this? If so, then yes, you are causing more harm by denying Cheech proper and curative treatment, and delaying his chances for resolution of the condition.
The Royal Canin fed prior may not have been the best choice. All cats react differently and have specific needs to address FLUTD. When one diet is clearly not working, then another veterinary equivalent in another brand is usually sufficient. The goal is to first identify the crystals, then prescribe a specific diet to dissolve them, then follow with a management diet. One should never feed anything else beyond the prescribed diet, as this defeats the purpose of management and prevention. Urinary tract infections can also lead to struvite formation, so followups on urinalysis should be done frequently.
Test strips used at home should not be relied upon for accuracy. ALL urine markers in a complete urinalysis should be checked to determine acidity, evidence of infection, pH and specific gravity, in which to prescribe the most appropriate and effective treatment. Test strips cannot tell you the specific gravity and cannot tell you if infection is present. Urine also changes depending on when voided, how tested, how handled, etc, so this is why urinalysis followups are recommended. If antibiotics are prescribed and if for some reason they are not working, then a urine culture and sensitivity testing should be done to identify which antibiotic is most effective for the bacteria.
If the second opinion suggests surgery is warranted because there is a crystal or stone too large to pass, then you will need to be prepared for surgery. If it cannot pass on it's own, there is NO other alternative but surgery to remove it. NO alternative product will ever address a large stone or treat FLUTD (nor any other condition), and you will only be fooling yourself if you believe that. Testimonies, anecdotes and recommendations by laypeople are not the answer, your VET is (providing your vet is not holistic). So get a second opinion IMMEDIATELY, cease the holistic stuff immediately, and heed the vets' combined opinion/recommendation if they suggest surgery. If you don't, you will be putting Cheech at risk for blockage, scar tissue, hematuria, infection, and mismanagement of the condition. Get it nipped in the bud and get it managed appropriately. The Hill's or Purina veterinary diets are ideal for the purpose of dissolution or management, if surgery is not indicated, but if surgery is required, you will need to manage the condition anyway, possibly for life...these diets are formulated specifically to do that and are safe to use long-term (the dissolution diets are not designed for long term use, but the managing diets are). You also need to followup regularly with exams and urinalysis as part of the managing process.
Holistic, homeopathy, herbs, etc are nothing but crap, have no evidence of efficacy or safety and have not been properly tested for safety, particularly in animals. Many herbs are contraindicated and react to other medications, making this a deadly combination. Homeopathy is water or alcohol, nothing added, it is pure pseudoscience -- equally as deadly are products claimed to be holistic or homeopathic that actually might contain substances that are adulterated or dubiously labeled, leaving the consumer with absolutely no recourse because they are not regulated. Please do not put any stock into what you see and read on the internet, nor what others tell you of baseless information regarding alternatives. Any vet who "prescribes" this is abandoning proper medicine and is delaying vital treatment for your cat. Or, did you take it upon yourself to do this? If so, then yes, you are causing more harm by denying Cheech proper and curative treatment, and delaying his chances for resolution of the condition.
The Royal Canin fed prior may not have been the best choice. All cats react differently and have specific needs to address FLUTD. When one diet is clearly not working, then another veterinary equivalent in another brand is usually sufficient. The goal is to first identify the crystals, then prescribe a specific diet to dissolve them, then follow with a management diet. One should never feed anything else beyond the prescribed diet, as this defeats the purpose of management and prevention. Urinary tract infections can also lead to struvite formation, so followups on urinalysis should be done frequently.
Test strips used at home should not be relied upon for accuracy. ALL urine markers in a complete urinalysis should be checked to determine acidity, evidence of infection, pH and specific gravity, in which to prescribe the most appropriate and effective treatment. Test strips cannot tell you the specific gravity and cannot tell you if infection is present. Urine also changes depending on when voided, how tested, how handled, etc, so this is why urinalysis followups are recommended. If antibiotics are prescribed and if for some reason they are not working, then a urine culture and sensitivity testing should be done to identify which antibiotic is most effective for the bacteria.
If the second opinion suggests surgery is warranted because there is a crystal or stone too large to pass, then you will need to be prepared for surgery. If it cannot pass on it's own, there is NO other alternative but surgery to remove it. NO alternative product will ever address a large stone or treat FLUTD (nor any other condition), and you will only be fooling yourself if you believe that. Testimonies, anecdotes and recommendations by laypeople are not the answer, your VET is (providing your vet is not holistic). So get a second opinion IMMEDIATELY, cease the holistic stuff immediately, and heed the vets' combined opinion/recommendation if they suggest surgery. If you don't, you will be putting Cheech at risk for blockage, scar tissue, hematuria, infection, and mismanagement of the condition. Get it nipped in the bud and get it managed appropriately. The Hill's or Purina veterinary diets are ideal for the purpose of dissolution or management, if surgery is not indicated, but if surgery is required, you will need to manage the condition anyway, possibly for life...these diets are formulated specifically to do that and are safe to use long-term (the dissolution diets are not designed for long term use, but the managing diets are). You also need to followup regularly with exams and urinalysis as part of the managing process.
..........Traci